Kazakhstan’s financial regulator on October 20, 2026, disclosed injunctions barring Coinbase and five peers from unlicensed services in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). Days earlier, locally licensed Bybit Kazakhstan signed a memorandum linking its platform to the AIFC’s tax residency program.
The Brief
- AFSA, the AIFC’s financial regulator, said the AIFC Court restrained six platforms, including Coinbase and HTX, from unlicensed digital asset services.
- Bybit Kazakhstan holds an AFSA license to run a Digital Asset Trading Facility and provide Money Services for digital assets.
- AIFC Markets Ltd. will verify qualifying crypto investments made through Bybit Kazakhstan under the Investment Tax Residency Program.
- The program grants eligible foreign investors Kazakhstan tax residency and an investor visa for investing through AIFC infrastructure.
Bybit Kazakhstan wires crypto into the residency program
Bybit Kazakhstan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on October 14 with AIFC Markets Ltd., the Program Office for the Investment Tax Residency Program (ITRP). The Program Office will verify and recognize qualifying investments that participants make through the exchange’s licensed platform.
The ITRP already recognized digital asset investments made on AFSA-licensed platforms. The memorandum targets the verification step. Both sides expect to introduce automated, secure investment checks that simplify data exchange between the exchange and the Program Office.
Bakhtiyar Tleubekov, who chairs the AIFC Authority’s Management Board, called adding digital assets “a significant step in advancing Kazakhstan’s investment infrastructure.” He said the Centre keeps widening the instruments open to international capital inside a transparent, regulated environment. He added that the updated program creates new openings for investors within the AIFC ecosystem.
Ablaikhan Aubakir, Country Manager at Bybit Kazakhstan, said investors can now build a digital asset portfolio on a licensed platform. He added that those holdings will be recognized within the AIFC framework. He framed the deal as another link between the exchange’s infrastructure and the country’s financial ecosystem.
🇰🇿 @Bybit_Official Kazakhstan has partnered with AIFC Markets to simplify crypto investment verification under Kazakhstan’s Investment Tax Residency Program. Eligible foreign investors can use qualifying digital asset investments to pursue tax residency and an investor visa. https://t.co/qmYJt4hdpj
— CoinLaw (@coinlaw_io) October 21, 2026
The memorandum extends an existing relationship. Bybit Kazakhstan is an AIFC Participant licensed by AFSA, and it already works with the Centre on regulated digital asset infrastructure. Both parties plan to explore further joint initiatives within the AIFC.
That government counterpart matters. Earlier crypto-for-residency pitches drew official pushback, including TON’s UAE golden visa offer, which UAE authorities denied. Here, the Program Office itself signs off on each qualifying investment.
Unlicensed rivals hit court limits
AFSA said the AIFC Court issued the injunctions on September 15 against the operators of BingX, Bitcoin.com, Huobi Global (HTX), BitMart, Coinbase and WEEX. The orders bar them from offering digital asset services in the AIFC, or to users there, without authorization. The restraints stop at the AIFC boundary and do not cover the rest of Kazakhstan.
The court also brought Apple and Google within scope as app-store operators but declined a separate injunction against them. LBank, named in the original claim, was dropped after resolving AFSA’s concerns. AFSA said its campaign began in 2025 with warnings to more than 20 platforms, followed by court proceedings in early 2026. Similar licensing enforcement has reached major exchanges elsewhere, including OKX’s fine in the Netherlands.
The court said unlicensed services undermine the AIFC’s framework and create unfair competition for licensed firms. Those firms carry anti-money laundering, customer due diligence and supervision costs.
Why It Matters?
The two announcements mark one boundary from opposite sides. An AFSA license now decides whether an exchange faces a court restraint or plugs into a state residency program. Bybit Kazakhstan sits on the licensed side, with the Program Office verifying its users’ investments directly.
The release still leaves gaps. What minimum digital asset investment does the ITRP require? When will automated verification go live? Which assets qualify?
Investors weighing any AIFC venue can check its status on the AFSA Public Register. ITRP participation stays subject to the eligibility rules that AIFC Markets Ltd. administers.
